Reviews

Man of Steel is an updated retelling of an old legend. Kal-El is a man who was born on the planet Krypton to a man named Jor-El. Jor-El as depicted in this film is a moral leader. He does not agree with the way Kryptonians have been running the planet. They have been spending all of their resources to a point to where Krypton is about to be destroyed. Jor-El sees this, and because he wants his son to survive in a world where he can make a difference, he sends Kal-El to Earth. On Earth, he is raised by a couple of farmers who name him Clark Kent. They soon start realizing that he has special abilities that no one else has, and this creates a lot of complications in his childhood. Eventually Clark finds out who he is, and that he is supposed to use his special abilities for good as Superman.

However, there is another man from Krypton named Zod who was born to protect Krypton. I am not going to go too deep into what Zod wants, but I will say that he wants something that has to do with Kal-El. He also wants to do something that will affect the people of earth in a negative way, so Superman has to stop him.

I really liked this version of Superman. It made me appreciate the character even more. As an audience we get an understanding of how Clark grew up. He did not like being different, there were times he really wanted to blow up at people, but he couldn't do that. He also was always willing to use his powers to do good, but he couldn't always do that because the Kents knew that he needed his powers to be revealed at the proper time. I really got a sense of how Clark is a great moral hero, and after watching this movie, I can see that he got that trait from his birth father, Jor-El. Without spoiling anything, I will tell you that his morality does get tested in the end.

The director, Zack Snyder—who is also known for directing 300—did a great job at giving us a visually appealing film. I have noticed from both this and 300 that he uses color in such an interesting way that it keeps me wanting to look at the screen. Another thing about his direction that is just awesome is the action scenes: they are phenomenal! I am going to say that this has some of the coolest action scenes I have ever seen. There is such a cool stylistic, comic book feel to them especially when Superman fights the Kryptonians. It is fast paced and crisp. One thing I love about it is that Zack Snyder likes to emphasize the first and last part of a punch while rushing everything in between. This adds to the feeling of watching a comic book because in a comic book we may see only the first and last part of a hit, but we usually do not see everything in between.

All the performances were very well done. I especially enjoyed the performance of Amy Adams, who played Lois Lane. When I first heard that she was going to play Lois I wondered how it was going to work. I was wondering if they were going to dye her hair black. However, I saw in the trailers that they did not do anything with her hair. It turns out that this is one of those times where performance is more important than looks. She did a good job at portraying Lois as a sarcastic, spunky woman, and I looked forward to every scene she was in.

I do not think anyone could have casted a better Superman. Henry Cavill does so well at portraying Superman as a confident role model with a strict moral code. I also enjoyed watching Cavill portray him as he transitioned into this character. He is not always confident with himself until he finds out who exactly he is and where he came from. One can see a sense of responsibility that Superman immediately gets after this, and with that responsibility there is a sense of confidence about him.

All of the performances were well done. Russell Crowe as Jor-El was very well executed as well as Michael Shannon as General Zod. Some of the parts were less phenomenal than others, but overall the acting was very well executed by the entire cast.

It was not the perfect movie, however. It did lack some character development that would have made it better. This is especially true with Lois Lane. Amy Adams played her very well, but in the end all I knew about her was that she was sometimes sarcastic and spunky. It would have been nice if there were more scenes showing the audience more about who she is. This would make us care more about her especially when she gets into risky situations. However, with that being said, this movie was primarily about Superman, and after seeing this movie I came to know and like that character even more.

I also felt that the story was probably a little over complicated. Without giving away any spoilers, there are some concepts in this movie that I felt were probably part of some deep Superman lore that an average audience member would have a difficult time picking up on. I felt that this point could have been simplified a little.

With that being said, I think that this movie is well worth watching. It has great visuals, an interesting story, and great performances!

I went to see this movie with my little brother, and a little bit into it I realized something: this movie is for kids. Now don't get me wrong, there are some excellent kids movies, but it seems like Disney was so worried about the demographic of children there that they dumbed it down for them. A lot of the voice overs almost sounded like they were talking down to the audience as if it was all supposed to be for kids. I thought it would be better because George Lopez was one of the voice overs, and I really like him as a comedian. However, it wasn't that great.

With that being said, I don't know if I'd say I totally hated it. There were some funny moments in it. There were two characters in particular that were actually funny and they were an iguana and a rat. I noticed that one of those characters was voiced by Cheech Marin who everyone will recognize. As I mentioned above, George Lopez was in it, and I must say he did have some funny lines also. I actually think the worst voice actor in this movie was Drew Barrymore, I just think she should stay out of voice acting and stick with live action movies, because she really didn't do it for me.

I do realize that voice acting is kind of a weird thing to be judging, and I usually never notice it, but a lot of the voices-the beginning in particular-just felt like they were talking down to me like I was a little kid. I felt like some all-star cast was trying to read a bed-time story to my little sister.

So overall, it had some funny moments, but it was kind of forgettable. I probably won't see it again unless I can catch it on Disney Channel one day. I would say don't waste your money, but if you just want to see a movie to watch with your kids and make them entertained for an hour and a half, go ahead and see it.

"Emma Smith: My Story" was an excellent movie. It is very hard to find words to express how good it was. When I went to it, I learned a lot from it. I learned about a very strong woman that I didn't really know much about. I also learned of the truthfulness of Joseph Smith's teachings. He is the prophet of God, and this movie does a lot to point this out. I felt the Spirit touch my heart multiple times while watching the movie. I am going to go on a mission soon, and while watching this movie, I knew that what I was setting out to do was the right thing to do. By the end of the movie I felt my heart racing, and I had to muster all the strength I had to not cry.

As far as cinematics go, it's not that important with this movie. It was very well done for what it's purpose was. It's not the type of movie you look at the script and acting to judge quality, it's a movie that fulfills its purpose. The purpose of this movie was to do several things. One it was meant to tell the story of Emma Smith and all her struggles and to show her role in Joseph Smith's life, two it was to bring the Spirit into the hearts of those who watched it (assuming their hearts were opened), and three it was to further testify of the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It achieved all three of these purposes with flying colors!

I just saw this movie last night, and I've got to say, I can see why people have rated it so high. After I walked out of the theater this man told me "It was sure different that's for sure," and he was exactly right, it was different but it was different in a good way.

Part of what makes it different is the fact that there is very little dialogue. The movie forces you to pay attention to the action rather than what they are saying. This isn't very hard though because the action and the scenery is very intriguing to watch. For example when the robot named Eve is first introduced she floats around the land in such a way that is very beautiful, and very pleasing to the eye.

What makes this movie especially great is the amount of character development it has achieved with the lack of dialogue. Wall-E never talks except for when he says his name or the name of Eve. This movie shows rather than tells, and that is quite an accomplishment. Rather than Wall-E telling someone what he desires, this movie uses various ways to show it.

With this character development comes the concern for the characters. Throughout the movie you are concerned about what is going to happen to Wall-E and his robotic friend Eve, but mostly for Wall-E because he is so fragile. In the beginning, Wall-E makes friends with a cockroach, who's name is never given, but despite this, I often felt concern for the bug, and I wanted it to survive.

Another thing that makes this movie different is that it is a social commentary. The thing I liked about this is it's not all about environmental issues (though there were some), but it is also about social issues that we as humans are headed towards-though they are shown in the extreme. I won't reveal what these issues are, because you will have to see it for yourself.

Wall-E is certainly different from any other Pixar movie, but that is what makes it great! 10/10

This is definitely the coolest action movie Hollywood has made in years. Casino Royale has it all: awesome action scenes, a well-developed human character, and a great plot.

The action scenes were incredible and were capable of keeping anyone awake and at the edge of his or her seat. The best scene was in the very beginning where James Bond is chasing a man through a construction yard. The man is very athletic and does some amazing stunts, and James Bond, who isn't near as athletic, does some cool stunts but not near as amazing as the man he chases.

Which brings me to the next point, the well developed character. James Bond is usually an emotionally detached man who is incapable of any human characteristics at all. He starts out as an egotistical loser who only cares about himself but his character goes through many changes throughout the movie. I can't reveal how these changes come or what they are because I would spoil this incredible movie to readers.

Along with the character, the plot line was very believable, and it was summarizable in one sentence: James Bond has to enter a high-stakes poker tournament to keep a lot of money from being one by a major terrorist organization. This mission that Bond has to do is very believable because it is dealing with a subject that is very real: terrorism.

The one word descriptions of this movie: awesome, amazing, excellent, brilliant.

I saw Lilo & Stitch 2 with my little brother while we were traveling in the car and I found that it was really good. It had a lot of funny moments in it and the ending had a really good message to it.

I thought that this movie would be kind of like Stitch the Movie which had the sole purpose of kicking off the series and not that great of a plot. I found however that the story was a lot better, they had some pretty good subplots to it, and it was both funny and poignant.

I would recommend this movie for many people, though it does have an appropriate "PG" rating, but I only give it eight out of ten stars because it just wasn't good enough to get the tenth star.

Jak II is a video game that is the sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. This game starts out right after the first one when they find a precursor "rift gate" and they end up finding a way to power this gate. Once they get the gate powered up it ends up leading them to a place called Haven City which is a huge, dark, futuristic city where people drive around in hover cars, people are trapped behind the walls, and guards called Krimson Guards scout the place. When they get there Jak gets caught by the guards and taken to a prison where he is tortured by the baron, Baron Praxis, with dark eco experiments. When Daxter finds him two years later he finds that he has turned into some kind of monster (at least at the right times). The rest of the game is mainly about how Jak and Daxter are seeking out Baron Praxis to kill him, it is also about how they recover their friends and try to impress a group of rebels against the baron called the Underground.

When I started the game about a month or two ago I didn't think it would be all that great. I would go to the store and laugh at how much different Jak II was from Jak and Daxter, but when I borrowed it from my friend and actually played it I became addicted. The game has a game play that I think is so much better than most games I've played. I actually came to love this game more than the first one, Jak and Daxter, and that is saying a lot because I was a huge fan of it. If you play till the end the ending is not a disappointment, Naughty Dog didn't only provide extraordinary game play, they also provided an ending that, though obvious, you would never have guessed.

Despite the first game, however, this game was not intended for children, its language, violence, and crude humor gave this game a well deserved T rating. If you are not one for crude humor I would encourage you to get past it because the game is that good.

Jak II is probably my favorite game now!

Charlie and the Chocolate factory is an excellent classic story about Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and a boy who has to goes against five kids to get the ultimate prize (though this boy isn't really competing, he is simply enjoying the chocolate factory tour Willy Wonka has been guiding him on). If you say that you don't want to see it because you have already seen the musical I would like you to know that this movie is probably better because Tim Burton has made Roald Dahl's characters more real and it is easier to get this story than the other one because it gives better definition of the characters. Throughout the movie Willy Wonka has flashbacks of his childhood making this eccentric character more real (I won't tell you what the flashbacks contain for it would ruin the story but they really give better definition of Willy Wonka). The new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is an excellent movie that I think everyone who loved the musical would enjoy as well.